More than half of US Air Force T-6A trainer aircraft back in service

Pat Host, Washington, DC - Jane's Defence Weekly

16 March 2018

More than half of the US Air Force’s (USAF) Beechcraft T-6A Texan II trainer aircraft are back in service after the fleet was recently grounded due to concerns with their oxygen supply systems.The USAF's top officer said on 14 March that 275 of the service's 444 T-6A trainers were back in service after a recent operational pause due to oxygen supply concerns. (US Air Force)

USAF Chief of Staff General David Goldfein told the House Appropriations (HAC) defence subcommittee on 14 March that the service is on track to have 275 of the service’s 444 aircraft back in the air this month. He added that the USAF would have the remainder flying this summer.

Gen Goldfein said the service found that three parts of the T-6A were failing at a much higher rate than it anticipated. The USAF is replacing those parts. Gen Goldfein did not specify which three parts were failing faster than expected and a request for comment to the USAF was not returned by press time.

The operational pause was the result of multiple unexplained physiological events experienced by Air Education and Training Command (AETC) pilots at several bases during the last two weeks of January, according to a service statement.

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